Sikinos is the first Greek island to go “Plastic Straw Free”

May 22, 2018environmentComments Off on Sikinos is the first Greek island to go “Plastic Straw Free”757 Views

The island of Sikinos will be the first in Greece to abandon plastic straws and replace them with reusable an/or biodegradable one. Local authorities, businesses and residents have agreed to joint the program “Sea Change” by the Caterina Laskaridis Foundation that will provide them with the alternatives to the plastic straws.

The cooperation between the municipality of Sikinos and Laskaridis Foundation was symbolically launched in a ceremony on Sunday, May 20th, the European Day for the Sea, naxospress notes.

The Sikinos Municipality has invited the residents and the businesses on the island in the south Cyclades to commit themselves to change their habits and help to reduce the global pollution.

The program starts immediately, in fact on Sunday it was the symbolic launching of the program.

Sikinos will welcome the summer as the first “Plastic Straw Free” island in Greece.

Mayor of Sikinos, Vassilis Marakis, said the local community was delighted to embrace the Sea Change program, strengthen the residents’ environmental awareness and change their habits fro the sake of environment protection.

A representative of Laskaridis Foundation stressed the dangerous impact on the environment saying “a plastic straw or a cup is used for just a few minutes, but its effect on the environment lasts for decades. The solution lies in our hands.”

The Sea Change program is scheduled to be implemented also on more Cyclades islands in the next months. aim of the program are multi-level interventions on the island for the protection of the marine environment and strengthening of local communities.

Every year at least eight million tons of plastic end up in the world seas.

A straw is only used for a few minutes, but it takes 200 years to dissolve and it is often not fully recycled or decomposed, with negative effects on the marine environment.

Every year worldwide, at least 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine creatures, such as turtles, die from the ingestion of litter and especially plastic.